Managing Browser Events and Navigation in Shopify Remix: useBeforeUnload, useHref, and useLocation Hooks

Shopify Remix is an innovative framework that provides a streamlined experience for building fast, dynamic, and user-friendly eCommerce applications. While Shopify’s flexibility and extensive ecosystem are well-known, the Remix framework adds another layer of control, particularly when it comes to handling browser events and navigation.

In a modern web application, managing user interactions and navigation seamlessly is crucial for a smooth user experience. In this blog, we will explore three important hooks available in Remix: useBeforeUnload, useHref, and useLocation. We’ll see how these hooks can be utilized in a Shopify Remix project to enhance the user experience.

Using useBeforeUnload Hook

The useBeforeUnload hook allows you to execute code before the user navigates away from the page. This is especially useful for preventing data loss when users try to leave a form or important page.

Code Example:

Here’s a simple example demonstrating how to use useBeforeUnload in a Remix component:

import { useEffect } from 'react';
function MyForm() {
  const handleBeforeUnload = (event) => {
    event.preventDefault();
    event.returnValue = '';
  };
  useEffect(() => {
    window.addEventListener('beforeunload', handleBeforeUnload);
    return () => {
      window.removeEventListener('beforeunload', handleBeforeUnload);
    };
  }, []);
  return (
    <form>
      <label>
        Name:
        <input type="text" required />
      </label>
      <button type="submit">Submit</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Explanation:

In the example above, we set up an event listener for the beforeunload event, which triggers when the user tries to leave the page. We provide a confirmation message to ensure they don’t lose their unsaved changes.

Using useHref Hook

The useHref hook provides the current URL as a string based on the provided path. This is useful when you want to generate links programmatically without relying on the default <Link> component.

Code Example:

Here’s how you can use useHref to create dynamic links in your Shopify Remix application:

import { useHref } from 'remix';

function Navigation() {
  const homeHref = useHref('/');
  const aboutHref = useHref('/about');

  return (
    <nav>
      <a href={homeHref}>Home</a>
      <a href={aboutHref}>About</a>
    </nav>
  );
}

Explanation:

In this example, useHref allows us to generate URLs dynamically, ensuring that they are always up-to-date with the current application routing.

Using useLocation Hook

The useLocation hook provides access to the current location object, which contains information about the URL such as pathname, search parameters, and hash. This is particularly useful for conditional rendering based on the current route.

Code Example:

Below is an example demonstrating how to use useLocation:

import { useLocation } from 'remix';
function CurrentPath() {
  const location = useLocation();

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Current Path:</h2>
      <p>{location.pathname}</p>
      <p>Search Params: {location.search}</p>
      <p>Hash: {location.hash}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Explanation:

In this component, we use useLocation to display the current path, search parameters, and hash. This can be helpful for debugging or creating conditional UI elements based on the URL.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we explored how to use useBeforeUnload, useHref, and useLocation in a Shopify Remix application. By leveraging these hooks, you can improve user experience through better navigation, data protection, and dynamic linking. Incorporate these techniques into your Remix projects to create a more interactive and user-friendly application!